Insert panel support structure

ABSTRACT

An insert panel support structure especially adapted for use in a hollow metal door to frame an opening for an insert panel, such as a glass panel. The channels defining the support structure are longer than the length of the respective sides of the opening and need not be cut to length to preform a support structure of a predetermined size. The channels are so arranged that the end of one channel abuts an overlapping mating channel to frame the opening.

United States Patent 72] Inventor Ernst Halpern Plainview, N.Y. [21]Appl. No. 801,394 [22] Filed Feb. 24, 1969 [45] Patented Apr. 27, 197173] Assignee Williamsburg Steel Products, Co. Brooklyn, N.Y.

[5 4] INSERT PANEL SUPPORT STRUCTURE 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs. [52] US.52/456, 5 2/204, 52/499 [51] Int. Cl E06b 3/54 [50] Field of Search52/208, 205, 498, 499, 455, 456; 49/171 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,171,445 2/1916 Larson 52/455X 1,872,309 8/1932 Loebel52/499X 2,747,705 5/1956 Bagnard 52/499X 3,024,837 3/1962 McPhail 160/913,131,440 5/1964 Leeser 52/456X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,024,703 2/1958 GermanyPrimary Examiner-Henry C. Sutherland Assistant Examiner-Sam D. Burke,III Anomey-Blum, Moscovitz, Friedman & Kaplan ABSTRACT: An insert panelsupport structure especially adapted for use in a hollow metal door toframe an opening for an insert panel, such as a glass panel. Thechannels defining the support structure are longer than the length ofthe respective sides of the opening and need not be cut to length topreform a support structure of a predetermined size. The channels are soarranged that the end of one channel abuts an overlapping mating channelto frame the opening.

PATENTEDAPRNIQH 357E092 sum 1 0F 2 I NVEN'I'OR. ERNST HALPERN ATTORNEYSPATENTEUAPRZTIQTI 3,575,092

sum 2 0F 2 ATTORNEYS ll INSERT PANEL sUPron'r STRUCTURE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a support structurefor an insert panel which eliminates the need for prefabrication of thesupport structure. In the fabrication of hollow metal doors, it is knownto provide an opening for an insert panel, such as a glass panel, which,in effect, forms a frame for the insert panel. After the hollow metaldoor is installed in the field, the insert panel is also installed.

Hollow metal doors are built up from component parts which are weldedtogether. Within the door between the skins thereof are located variouschannel and support members for imparting the necessary rigidity to thedoor and for separating the skins to provide a door of the desiredthickness. If a particular door is to have a frame to accommodate aninsert panel, suitable openings are provided in the door skins when theskins are cut to size. In the prior arrangements, it was also necessaryto prefabricate a frame of a particular size to form the supportstructure for the insert panel that will be subsequently installed. Theframe or support structure was prefabricated prior to fabrication of thedoor and carefully positioned about the openings in the skins to becomean integral part of the fabricated door.

The need for prefabricated frames introduced added costs because theframes are various sizes had to be fabricated at a frame fabricatinglocation within a plant, transferred to the door assembly location andheld in readiness so as not to delay the assembly of the doors andthereafter selected and carefully positioned on the door skins. Sincedoors are generally ordered for a particular job or building, it was notuncommon to have wide variation in the sizes of insert panels and thusit is generally not practicable to stock support structures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, in accordance with theinvention, the need for prefabrication of the support structure iscompletely eliminated. Channels of various incremental lengths arestored at the door assembly station and it is merely necessary for theassembler to select channels and place them on the skin surrounding theopening through the skin. The length of each channel is not critical solong as it is longer than its adjoining side of the opening. Removablemolding members can be provided on the same basis since the overlappingor overextending channel and molding members will be located whollywithin the skins of the door. Thus, the external appearance will be thesame as the prior art but the prefabrication of the support structuresis completely eliminated.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a supportstructure for an insert panel of improved construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a support structure foran insert panel which can be fabricated during assembly of the doorthereby eliminating the need for prefabrication of same.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved supportstructure for an insert panel which includes molding members which neednot be cut to the size of the insert panel.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part beobvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hollow metal door having an insertpanel and support structure therefor constructed in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded partial perspective view of the construction ofthe door shown in FIG. 1 in the area of the insert panel supportstructures;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken along line 3-3of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hollow metal doorconstructed to receive multiple insert panels; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken along line 5-5of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1through 3, door 11 is of built up welded and finished construction andis provided with an insert panel 12 which, most typically, would be aglass panel. Such a door is suitable for use as an office door. Hollowmetal doors find uses throughout office buildings and apartments withthe type and size of the insert panel depending on the use to which thedoor is to be put. For example, the insert panel could be in the form ofa louvered panel if it is desired that air pass through the door. Theinstant invention is not limited to any particular type of insert panel.

As is known to those skilled in the art, a hollow metal door has a firstskin 13 and a second skin 14 as its major components. The skins areseparated by' a plurality of flanges, channels and other structuralmembers welded to the skins to form the finished door, all as is wellknown to those in the art. Thus, the various structural members whichform the door have not been shown.

Skin 13 is formed with an opening: 15 of predetermined size and skin 14is provided with an opening 16 of predetermined size which, as shown inFIG. 3, is larger than opening 15 in order to permit insertion of theinsert panel during on the job installation.

The fabricator of the hollow door is provided with a plurality ofchannels 17 and 18 of different lengths and the fabricator selects toplace along side each side of opening 15 a channel which is at least aslong as the length of the side. It matters not that the length of thechannel is longer than the length of the side and the channel need notbe out to size. Channel 17 has the cross-sectional configuration shownin FIG. 3. Its outermost leg 19 is placed! in overlying relationshipwith skin 13 with adjoining center 21 flush with the side formingopening 15 as most clearly shown in FIG. 3. Outermost leg 19 is weldedto skin 13 during early stages of door fabrication. Channel 17 is alsoprovided with a base portion 22 which is offset from joining centerportion 21 by an amount equal to the difference in spacing between twooverlapping sides of openings 15 and 16 so that base portion 22 liesalong the edge of opening 16 when skin 14 is placed thereover. Extendingbetween joining center portion 21 and base portion 22 is a center leg23. A second outer leg 25 includes a short inset portion 24 and extendsfrom base portion 22. Skin 14 overlies and is welded to outer leg 25whereby channel 17 is an integral and rigid part of the finished door.Each of channels 17 and 18 is of identical construction and is fixed tothe door skins in the same manner.

During assembly of the door, skin 13 is placed on a horizontal worksurface and the various structural members are placed thereon, includingchannels 17 and 18. The first channel, channel 17 for example, is placedon skin 13 with joining center portion 21 lying along one side of theopening. One end of the channel is placed flush with one corner of theopening and the other end of the channel extends beyond the oppositecomer of the opening as shown in FIG. 2. Next, a channel 18 is placedwith joining center portion 21 flush with a side of opening 15 and withone end in abutment with the extending end of channel 117. The oppositeend of channel 18 extends beyond the opposite corner. Additionalchannels 17 and 18 are added to form the framed opening shown in FIG. 2,

' completely without regard to the precise length of each channel. Thefour channels are welded in place to skin 13 and,

I during subsequent assembly, to skin 14.

Moldings are provided which are removable to permit installation of theinsert panel at the site. Moldings 3-1 and 32 between inset portion 24and skin 14. Base 35 is located to be coplanar with joining centerportion 21 for optimum finished appearance and short leg 33 is spacedfrom center leg 23 to receive insert panel 12. The remaining moldings 31and 32 are constructed as just described.

On'site installation proceeds in the following manner. After the doorhas been hung, insert panel 12 is placed in the opening defined by baseportion 22 in abutment with center leg 23. Moldings 31 and 32 aresupplied with the door and a first molding is slid into position withone edge at a corner of opening 16 and the other edge extending beyondthe opposite corner of the opening. Such other edge would be insertedfirst and the molding maneuvered into position. One screw 36 only needbe provided since the overlapping arrangement to be hereafter describedwill automatically lock the moldings into place. Screw 36 is passedthrough the molding and secured in a tapped aperture 37 in'base portion22. Note that molding 31 can easily slide along base portion 22 of thechannel which it overlaps without interference with the abutting channelsince the abutting channel terminates in abutment with the surface ofjoining center portion 21 thereby leaving adequate space between the endof the abutting channel and base portion 22 to receive the molding.Consecutive moldings are installed in the same manner until the completeframe shown in FIG. 2 is formed whereby insert panel 12 is held inplace.

Normally, the side of the door from which moldings 31 and 32 areinstalled will be the inside so that access to screws 36 cannot be hadfrom the outside and thus the outside of the door becomes the side thatcan be locked.

The interlocking arrangement of moldings 31 and 32 necessitating only asingle screw 36 with eachmolding forms an added advantage. Each channel17 and 18 can be formed with a tapped aperture 37 located at apredetermined distance from one end. Each molding 31 and 32 is formedwith a clearance bore the same predetermined distance from one end.Regardless of the size of the opening and the lengths of the channelsand moldings, the clearance bore 38 in a molding will automatically becorrectly aligned with the tapped aperture 37 in a mating channel.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, door 41 is adapted to receive fourinsert panels 42. The arrangement of the channels and moldings will bethe same for each opening and, where the insert panels are adjacent,moldings and channels will be back-to-back. In other words, adjacentedges of the openings for insert panels 42 will include back-to-backchannels 17 secured to first skin as and second skin 44 and the moldings31 will be secured to the channels by means of screws 36 in the mannerheretofore described.

Many modifications of the molding and channel configurations arepossible. The principal purpose of the invention is to utilize channelsand moldings -which eliminate the necessity of prefabrication andespecially prefabrication of the channels into a frame for the insertpanel. The door fabricator is capable of forming a support structure forthe insert panel from the channels and moldings on hand at his station,regardless of the size of the opening specified for any particular door.

it will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are

efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the aboveconstructions without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, it is intended that all matter contained limiting sense.

lclaim:

1. In a door having first and second spaced skins and at least onemultisided opening through each skin, said openings overlying oneanother to define a through passage, the combination comprising aplurality of channel members secured between said skins, one channelmember being provided for each side of one of said openings, eachchannel member having a first end located at one corner of said oneopening and a second end extending at least beyond an opposite corner ofsaid one opening along a side of said opening, said first end of eachchannel member being in abutment with a side of one other channelmember, the second end of each channel member extending between saidspaced skins beyond the abutting first end of another channel member forframing said one opening by means of channel members having lengthslonger than the length of the sides of said one opening, a plurality ofmolding members, the number of molding members being equal to the numberof channel members, and fastening means releasably securing each moldingmember in overlying relationship with a cooperating one of said channelmembers, each of said molding members having at least one leg and eachof said channel members having at least one leg, said one leg of eachchannel member being spaced from said one leg of its overlying moldingmember to define a slot for receiving and supporting an insert panel.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said moldingmembers has a first end located at one corner of the other of saidopenings and a second end extending at least beyond an opposite cornerof said other opening along a side thereof, said first end of eachmolding member being in abutment with a side of one other moldingmember, the second end of each molding member extending between saidspaced skins beyond the abutting first end of another molding member forframing said other opening by means of molding members having lengthslonger than the length of the sides of said other opening.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein said one opening is ofsmaller dimension than the other opening, said channel members eachincluding a center portion extending perpendicularly to the plane ofsaid one opening and being substantially flush with the side thereof.

4. The combination claimed in claim 3 wherein each of said channelmembers includes a base portion extending to the plane of the otheropening and being substantially flush with the side thereof.

5. The combination claimed in claim 4 wherein each of said moldingmembers includes a base portion extending perpendicularly to the planeof said other opening and being substantially coplanar with the centerportion of the channel member to which it is releasably secured.

6. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein each channel member hastwo spaced outer legs with each leg secured to a respective one of saidskins adjacent said openings, each leg of a channel member havingextending therefrom a base portion substantially flush with the side ofthe opening from which it extends.

7. The combination claimed in claim 6 wherein one of said outer legsincludes an offset adjacent its respective base portion for receivingbetween said offset and the skin to which said leg is affixed a portionof said overlying molding member.

8. The combination claimed in claim 7 wherein said molding members areformed as U-shaped members having legs and a base portion, the portionof said molding member received in said offset portion being one of saidlegs, the outer edge of the other of said legs being in abutment with asurface of said channel member.

1. In a door having first and second spaced skins and at least onemultisided opening through each skin, said openings overlying oneanother to define a through passage, the combination comprising aplurality of channel members secured between said skins, one channelmember being provided for each side of one of said openings, eachchannel member having a first end located at one corner of said oneopening and a second end extending at least beyond an opposite corner ofsaid one opening along a side of said opening, said first end of eachchannel member being in abutment with a side of one other channelmember, the second end of each channel member extending between saidspaced skins beyond the abutting first end of another channel member forframing said one opening by means of channel members having lengthslonger than the length of the sides of said one opening, a plurality ofmolding members, the number of molding members being equal to the numberof channel members, and fastening means releasably securing each moldingmember in overlying relationship with a cooperating one of said channelmembers, each of said molding members having at least one leg and eachof said channel members having at least one leg, said one leg of eachchannel member being spaced from said one leg of its overlying moldingmember to define a slot for receiving and supporting an insert panel. 2.The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said molding membershas a first end located at one corner of the other of said openings anda second end extending at least beyond an opposite corner of said otheropening along a side thereof, said first end of each molding memberbeing in abutment with a side of one other molding member, the secondend of each molding member extending between said spaced skins beyondthe abutting first end of another molding member for framing said otheropening by means of molding members having lengths longer than thelength of the sides of said other opening.
 3. The combination claimed inclaim 1 wherein said one opening is of smaller dimension than the otheropening, said channel members each including a center portion extendingperpendicularly to the plane of said one opening and being substantiallyflush with the side thereof.
 4. The combination claimed in claim 3wherein each of said channel members includes a base portion extendingto the plane of the other opening and being substantially flush with theside thereof.
 5. The combination claimed in claim 4 wherein each of saidmolding members includes a base portion extending perpendicularly to theplane of said other opening and being substantially coplanar with thecenter portion of the channel member to which it is releasably secured.6. The combination claimed in claim 1 wherein each channel member hastwo spaced outer legs with each leg secured to a respective one of saidskins adjacent said openings, each leg of a channel member havingextending therefrom a base portion substantially flush with the side ofthe opening from which it extends.
 7. The combination claimed in claim 6wherein one of said outer legs includes an offset adjacent itsrespective base portion for receiving between said offset and the skinto which said leg is affixed a portion of said overlying molding member.8. The combination claimed in claim 7 wherein said molding members areformed as U-shaped members having legs and a base portion, the portionof said molding member received in said offset portion being one of saidlegs, the outer edge of the other of said legs being in abutment with asurface of said channel member.